The British legacy on Heligoland, a rocky 170-hectare island in the German Bight, will forever be tainted by the „British Bang“ of April 1947 – when the Royal Navy detonated almost 7,000 tonnes of explosives in order to destroy the remaining U-boat pens. It still ranks among the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, and is not remembered with fondness by the exiled Helgoländer, who had to rebuild everything from scratch when they were allowed to resettle from 1952. It is tempting to wonder if the Navy would have been more cautious had there been a cricket club on the island. But, surprisingly, no cricket seems to have been played on the „Gibraltar of the North“ during the 83 years of British occupation, which ended in 1890 when the government traded it for Zansibar, much to Queen Victoria’s displeasure. It was not until late 2012 that Mark Richardson, head of the flourishing cricket section at THCC Rot-Gelb in Hamburg, came up with the idea of launching a sister club on Heligoland, now a popular duty-free day trip three hours‘ ferry ride from the mouth of the River Elbe. Heligoland Pilrgims CC were inducted as the newest – and most isolated – member of the Deutscher Cricket Bund, and made their debut against THCC Rot-Gelb in the inaugural Atlantik Cup tie last July, on an artificial football pitch belonging to VfL Fosite, the island’s sports club. The Pilgrims, backed by sponsorship from Erdinger beer, now have more than 30 members of all ages and backgrounds, and plan to enter German youth tournaments and invite touring sides. Heligoland’s speciality, Knieper (crab) sandwiches, are served at tea. The crab is also the club’s mascot, and has inspired their team song „Jeepers Kniepers“ – sung to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s „Jeepers Creepers“.

The astonishing news: German cricket was mentioned in this year’s Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack. The less astonishing news: What exactly got attention was the Erdinger Alkoholfrei Atlantik Cup, played by the Pilgrims and their eternal rivals, THCC Rot-Gelb from Hamburg.

James Coyne’s text reads as follows:

The British legacy on Heligoland, a rocky 170-hectare island in the German Bight, will forever be tainted by the „British Bang“ of April 1947 – when the Royal Navy detonated almost 7,000 tonnes of explosives in order to destroy the remaining U-boat pens. It still ranks among the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, and is not remembered with fondness by the exiled Helgoländer, who had to rebuild everything from scratch when they were allowed to resettle from 1952. It is tempting to wonder if the Navy would have been more cautious had there been a cricket club on the island. But, surprisingly, no cricket seems to have been played on the „Gibraltar of the North“ during the 83 years of British occupation, which ended in 1890 when the government traded it for Zansibar, much to Queen Victoria’s displeasure. It was not until late 2012 that Mark Richardson, head of the flourishing cricket section at THCC Rot-Gelb in Hamburg, came up with the idea of launching a sister club on Heligoland, now a popular duty-free day trip three hours‘ ferry ride from the mouth of the River Elbe. Heligoland Pilrgims CC were inducted as the newest – and most isolated – member of the Deutscher Cricket Bund, and made their debut against THCC Rot-Gelb in the inaugural Atlantik Cup tie last July, on an artificial football pitch belonging to VfL Fosite, the island’s sports club. The Pilgrims, backed by sponsorship from Erdinger beer, now have more than 30 members of all ages and backgrounds, and plan to enter German youth tournaments and invite touring sides. Heligoland’s speciality, Knieper (crab) sandwiches, are served at tea. The crab is also the club’s mascot, and has inspired their team song „Jeepers Kniepers“ – sung to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s „Jeepers Creepers“.